Humans and felines paid the Aether point required to cross the Black Cube and reappeared into the Shelter a split second later. The black clouds had now all but dissipated and two orange suns were now providing their auspicious brightness.
The arrival in the city posed a major problem for Jake, which immediately dampened his mood. The ground under their feet was no longer just dirt or dust, but a kind of huge metal slab.
Jake couldn't feel the Aether in this material and since the floor itself seemed to be forged in one single piece, manipulating it would have been extremely complicated if not impossible in any case.
His temporary ability to manipulate the earth had therefore become useless and the direct consequence of this was that he had just lost his means of locomotion. Still having his pride, he had anticipated the situation by pruning two long sticks in advance to act as crutches.
